Cobra-powered Siata 208S Spyder heads to auction

Owning a Siata 208S of any kind is quite an accomplishment for a collector, as just 35 examples of the distinctive Italian roadster were built between 1953 and 1955. Of the pool of available candidates, perhaps none is more desirable than a car that blends Italian style and handling with a dose of Shelby Cobra V-8 power; known as the “Siata-Ford,” this one-of-one 1953 Siata 208S Spyder will be heading to auction in Phoenix, Arizona, next week.

Chassis BS509 was originally sold to Bill Doheny, a wealthy California oil man who provided financial backing to the car’s importer, Ernie McAfee of McAfee Engineering. As delivered, the Siata 208S Spyder came equipped with a 122-cu.in. Fiat V-8, rated at an estimated 125 horsepower. Known as the Fiat 8V engine, Siata provided tuning enhancements in the form of hotter camshafts and free flowing cylinder heads, and bolted to a five-speed manual transmission, the car was said to be capable of a 115 MPH top speed.

The car was also known for its exceptional handling, aided by an aluminum body (by Michelotti), a tube frame chassis that kept weight to just 2,460 pounds and oversize hydraulic drum brakes. The Siata 208S Spyder also employed a four-wheel independent suspension that utilized coil springs and shock absorbers, and rewarded its driver with an ideal weight distribution of 50 percent front, 50 percent rear. If the car had a strike against it, it was the selling price of $5,350, which put it nearly on par with a Jaguar C-Type.

Doheny kept the car in stock form during his nine-year ownership, then sold it to cinematographer Kent Wakeford in 1962. Wakeford was friends with Carroll Shelby, who, coincidentally, was busy upgrading the 260-cu.in. Ford V-8s previously used in competition Cobra models to a new 289-cu.in. version. A phone call later, Shelby agreed to sell Wakeford a 260-cu.in. V-8 and four-speed all-aluminum T-10 transmission; whether or not the combination would fit in the Siata was entirely Wakeford’s problem.

Enter customizer and aerospace engineer Alan Johnston, who was hired by Wakeford to put the package together into a functional automobile. Not content to simply shoehorn the larger Ford V-8 between the Siata’s front fenders, Johnston calculated the placement necessary to retain the Siata’s original 50/50 weight distribution, a feat achieved by relocating the 260-cu.in. engine four inches rearward. Johnston fabricated an exhaust system and changed the car’s rear differential from 4.11:1 gearing to 3.62:1 gearing, and the finished product was essentially indistinguishable from a factory build. Output was now raised to 300 horsepower, and the Siata-Ford weighed in at just 50 pounds heavier than a stock example.

Wakeford sold the car in 1974, and it quickly passed through a pair of owners before coming into the possession of architect Dan Rowen in 1976. Rowan enjoyed the car for more than three decades, until his death in 2009. During a subsequent frame-off restoration, tear-down revealed that the tubular chassis was free of both damage and rust, and that the car’s aluminum body still retained all of its original panels. The Shelby-supplied 260-cu.in. V-8 was pulled and rebuilt, while an original dual four-barrel Cobra AFB carburetor setup was unearthed for the restoration. While the engine’s rocker arm covers still wear the same Cobra decals, a new exhaust, fabricated to match Johnston’s original, was fitted to the car. Since restoration, the owner has reportedly added just 1,000 miles to the car, which he describes as being “completely dialed-in.”

RM predicts this truly unique Siata 208S Spyder will command a selling price between $1.3 and $1.6 million. In addition to extensive documentation (and contact information for Al Johnston, who reportedly considers the Siata-Ford to be his favorite build), the price will include the car’s original Fiat 8V engine, tracked down by the consignor and currently in non-running condition.

RM’s Phoenix sale will take place Thursday and Friday at the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. For additional information, visit RMAuctions.com.

UPDATE (18.January.2014): The 1953 Siata 208S Spyder reached a high bid of $1,000,000, but failed to meet its reserve price.

larry youngsays:

January 14, 2014 9:38 am

Scotty Gsays:

January 14, 2014 9:38 am

4″ less legroom = I would never fit, not that I could afford the $1.5 probable selling price. What a fantastic car, and that it took an aerospace engineer to figure out the 50/50 weight distribution with the heavier engine is a cool story. Although, again, since only 35 of these cars were made, is this car worth more or less because of the modifications from stock?

Kurt Ernstsays:

January 14, 2014 9:47 am

Scotty Gsays:

January 14, 2014 10:33 am

Very true, Kurt. The old real estate saying about a house being worth between $1 and $1 million dollars, whatever the market is at the time of the sale. Of course, that $1 million doesn’t buy quite as much house, or car, as it once did.

I see a $20,000 Hemi on the “Most-viewed Parts” side bar, and a $2,500 Pontiac Solstice, hmm.. Another $10,000 – $15,000 to have that engine shoehorned in there and you’d have a pretty nice little car compared to spending $1.5 million on the Siata.

Paladinsays:

January 14, 2014 9:55 am

Nice looking for sure, and very rare absolutely. But, Unless you are a Saudi Prince, or Jay Leno (who probably has more money than your average Saudi Prince), and want to add to your extensive collection. Not sure who would buy this. Don’t real Cobras go for less? Maybe not much less, come to think of it. And Replicas much, much less. Guess what they say that “the rich are not like us” is very true.

tom psays:

January 15, 2014 5:05 pm

In this rarified income range…it’s NOT THE MONEY…it’s BRAGGING RIGHTS.

Bragging rights pop up in every hobby. About two months ago, a model engine, worth no more than $30 at any flea market, sold for just under $300 online. Two buyers got in a ‘contest,’ I’d guess, just to see who would blink first.

ragtops rulesays:

January 14, 2014 10:44 am

Beautiful car, I’d love to own it if I could afford it. So what do you think Kurt is this resto-mod worth more than an original? Sure appears to be more spirited and easier to maintain than a stock one.

Kurt Ernstsays:

January 14, 2014 1:23 pm

David K. Adamssays:

January 14, 2014 12:15 pm

Perhaps it is a peculiarly American trait to put canned tomato sauce on even the finest Italian pasta. The original Fiat engine- the “Otto Vu” was a fine and interesting design- innovative beyond much US V8 iron. The only optimism I see in this butchered beauty is that the original components might be someday be again found under its hood.

Stone the crowssays:

January 14, 2014 11:13 pm

Oh, I wouldn’t be too hard on the fellow who put a Ford V8 in this car. I agree the 8V was a great an innovative design for its time. But the narrow (70 degree) V8 had some issues too. The three main bearing crankshaft meant that the connecting rods would often break. The piston rings were too wide and the wrist pins set too low causing a rotational imbalance. Parts? Forget about it. So perhaps its a good thing that the engine was swapped and the original is still available, rather than sitting somewhere with a connecting rod through the block. At the time the engine change was done, no one had the technology to diagnose and correct the inherent problems with the 8V so it was a wise decision in my opinion to put a different engine in so the car could be driven at all. It also had a very difficult Marelli ignition which had two sets of points and two coils, which if set differently would kill the engine, and when they were in sync would wear differently and you still have a problem.

John C. Kovalosays:

January 14, 2014 12:22 pm

Mama mia, that’s a spicy Siata! The Ford shoe-horn job makes it an interesting analog to the original AC/small-block V-8 Cobra, and a side-by-side comparison between the two would be most interesting, especially out on the track.

Of course, THAT ain’t happenin’, given the financial stratosphere that Siatas and early Cobras both live in.

Stone the crowssays:

January 14, 2014 11:17 pm

Olddavidsays:

January 15, 2014 2:18 pm

You speak with the voice of experience concerning the FIAT engine. Where would an American gearhead have been exposed to something quite unique in Italy, let alone our side of the pond? Were you once one of Harrah’s genius mechanics? As a child, I was exposed to his operation in Reno, and have yet to see its equal. 70 degree V? One plus horsepower per cube? High output for the day.

Stone the crowssays:

January 15, 2014 10:09 pm

Glenn Krasnersays:

January 14, 2014 6:19 pm

Cars are meant to be driven, and some people really have the need for speed, and aren’t thinking about a car’s resale value fifty years down the line. Mr. Wakeford probably did what he thought was the best thing for him in the early sixties, which was to upgrade the car’s hp from 125 to 300. I bet that the car could really move with that kind of upgrade, and I am positive that Mr. Wakeford enjoyed driving it every minute he did. So, I have to give Mr. Wakeford credit for turning his little Siata into a Cobra, and based on the so few number of Siatas made, I don’t think the engine swap will hurt its resale value that much. Glenn in the Bronx, NY.

raysays:

January 14, 2014 6:32 pm

……deciding which way to go with the engines on this must have been an agonizing call……on one hand, reverse engineering the original Fiat back into place would be an expensive process, even if an appropriate trans could be found. On the other hand, the Shelby provenance, as distant as it was, would be lost in the process. Selling it as it is, and letting the new buyer make the choice is probably the right way to go. What I can’t understand is the decision to compromise the circa 1964 Shelby connection by retrofitting a 2×4 carb setup…….as if this tiny car wasn’t already wildly overpowered, and probably close to undrivable on it’s skinny original size wheels and tires!

Paul Aitchisonsays:

January 14, 2014 9:26 pm

Not a lot of conversation by the usual suspects about “It should have been returned to the original build specs etc.”, like the above Plymouth Fury III article. I guess it makes a huge difference if Carroll Shelby had a hand in it and the owner had big bucks. Lets face it, virtually all Carroll’s machines were bastardized AC Ace’s. Should all the AC Cobra’s be returned to the original AC Ace design?? This whole debate gets my goat. As it was stated previously if the owner wants to makes any changes, providing the publics safety is not compromised, it’s his car to do as he wishes. Let it go guys.

ragtops rulesays:

January 15, 2014 8:39 am

I couldn’t agree with you more Paul,nicely said. Makes you wonder if some of these people feel the same way about their houses,after all the kitchen and bathroom are only original once maybe you shouldn’t change any thing there either.

Stoneysays:

January 15, 2014 9:54 am

Yes, true. What is overlooked is that in 1962 the Ford 260 was new, and a considerable engineering advance, when you consider that in comparison to the Fiat 8V (more than a decade old when the 260 came out) you had double the displacement, and easily more than double the horsepower for a 50lb weight gain. Its easy to look back now and see the 260/289 as a lump that is as common as dirt and only worthy of being in a Falcon or a Mustang, but back then it was state of the art, and breathed life into what were essentially used cars.

teddy langsays:

January 15, 2014 6:39 am

Around the time when actress Angel Tompkins was nominated for a Golden Globe, she was running around in stock 1962 Alfa Romeo spyder; an engineer approached her and took her Alfa and installed a 289 Cobra engine mated to a three speed cruisomatic and installed it in her car. When I saw it is fast…it is… We continue to own this little bomber, altho Angel does not drive it; I do…

Stoneysays:

January 15, 2014 2:53 pm

Al Johnstonsays:

April 12, 2016 1:11 pm

Sir:
I only recently became aware of this article, however in years past I had been in contact with Dan Rowan and then with Colin Comer during his fine restoration.
Just an “Old Retired Aerospace Engineer, (and an earlier Hot Rodder)”

Al Johnstonsays:

April 12, 2016 1:20 pm

I would be interested in “talking” with the original writer, if they are interested.
The car was built in a small, cluttered garage; basic tools and with only minimal outside machine shop assistance.
al